Recap of the Week:
Day 1:
A little chillier than anticipated for May, but otherwise a sunny, clear day from gun to gun. The first portion of the day, as is historically the case, was a session for the rookies get up to speed and one-off's to get their refresher laps in. All five rookies complete all three phases of the ROP by the end of the day. It's interesting to note that the three phases were lowered this year down to: 10 laps in the range of 205-210 mph, 15 laps between 210-215 mph and 15 laps at 215-plus mph.
Rookie Practice Results
When all was said and done, the entire field had turned at least one lap (first time since 2010 that the whole field participated in opening day), and ran almost 1,500 incident free laps, an important fact coming into this month where safety is front and centre. When the checkers waved, it was Andretti Autosport, who quite frankly has been no where this season, covering five of the top six spots on the timesheet, with Marco leading the way with a top speed of 228 mph.
Practice 1 Results
Day 2:
Washed out.
Day 3:
You knew it was coming. Somebody has to be the first to hit the wall. This year the honour went to rookie Spencer Pigot, who lost control coming out of Turn 1, the rear of the car whipping around, careening the car hard into the wall along the right side. The car's natural tendency to lift was thwarted, and he came to a stop right side up between turn 1 and 2. He was checked and released and cleared to drive unharmed. His car however wasn't so lucky, and was "tubbed". (meaning a rebuild with a new tub was now on the docket) He would miss the remainder of the day 3 practice, and subsequently all of day 4.
“I feel fine physically. Just feel bad for the guys. Not really sure what happened there. Before I knew it I was facing backwards. Difficult day before that. I thought we were getting through our plan. It’s a pretty big setback. Hopefully we can get back out in the next day or two,” explained the reigning Indy Lights champion. “The car was feeling pretty good. Car was making improvements. Everything was feeing good. Just not sure what happened. We’ll have to look and see what caused the spin. It’s a big setback for me and the team. It’s not what you want to happen on second day.”
Because of the abbreviated practice schedule for the month of May, teams and drivers are using their track time, particularly in the later stages of the day, to run race simulations, both grouped as teams, and individually. We're seeing lots of jockeying for position and lots of passing, both by same manufacturer cars and differing. This bodes well for race day.
Lots of cautions for debris, but no further "incidents". Two drivers did have car issues: Matthew Brabham had to be towed due to a fuel pressure issue, and Mikhail Aleshin had an engine failure.
After a fast paced day which saw the field turn 2,779 laps, again it was an Andretti Honda (RHR) at the top of the charts.
Practice 3 Results
Day 4: Today wasn't about speed. (though they were still getting up there with tows) It was about running in traffic and seeing how the car handled. In fact, compared to the other practice days, today was a little quieter, with bursts of activity, and then quiet, as teams tinkered and adjusted preparing for the next 3 days.
Again, the day was incident free, but there were a few butt-clenching moments as drivers pushed the limits of the car and themselves. There was another engine failure, that of Ryan Hunter-Reay, similar to Aleshin's. In both cases the engines had over 500 miles on them, and in both cases, the engines have been sent back to HPD for diagnostics. Both drivers will be receiving their race engines as replacements.
The final hour of practice, as expected, saw teams starting to trim out their cars in preparation for qualifying and "Fast Friday" where speeds are expected to increase as the turbocharger boost level for both Chevrolet and Honda engines will be raised to140 kPa, giving the cars an approximate additional 30 horsepower.
"It's only practice but it feels pretty good," said Chaves, the 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year for both the Indianapolis 500 and Verizon IndyCar Series who had been without a ride this season before Dale Coyne Racing brought him on this month. "It's my first time at the top of the charts here at IMS in an Indy car. I'm Just pleased with the work the team has been doing, very pleased with the performance that Honda has been putting out as well. Overall I think we've got a pretty strong package."
Practice 4 Results
So now we head into Fast Friday, where no one will be surprised when the Chevy teams remove the sandbags hidden in the sidepods ;-) and show what many suspect is the winning hand they've been holding close to their chest.
What They're Saying' Heading into Fast Friday:
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "The Verizon Chevy ran well today. We had a little bit of a problem there earlier, but we made some changes and were able to make progress towards the end of practice. We're getting up to speed, ending practice much faster than we did previously. Honestly, I'm very happy with where we're going right now."
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was another good and productive day for the Pennzoil Chevy crew. We were working on race setup. We haven't even touched the qualifying setup. Tomorrow is a new game, though. We're going to have more boost. Everybody is going to have more boost. So, speeds are going to increase and looking forward to focusing on qualifying tomorrow."
BUDDY LAZIER (No. 4 Lazier/Burns Racing Chevrolet): "We got some good running in today. We cycled through some aero bits, working on our race setup. All in all it was a pretty good day. I'm looking forward to Fast Friday and I feel as though my team and I are working well together."


JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "Today was another productive day in the No. 5 Arrow Electronics car. We checked a lot of things off the list. We got a little bit lost near the end of the day but then right at the end, the guys made a great change to the car and it really came alive. We're slowly getting a handle on the car in race trim and tomorrow we're switching gears to get ready for Fast Friday, and trimming this thing out for qualifying."
JR HILDEBRAND (No. 6 Preferred Freezer Fuzzy Vodka Chevrolet): "We got a lot of running in today. We're trying to get ready for qualifying. Today there's sort of a mixture of qualifying stuff and race stuff. We're getting ready for Fast Friday tomorrow, which will be entirely qualifying preparations. We're just trying to collect as much data as we can and get ready to rock and roll when we get some extra horsepower tomorrow."
MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "Practice was good today. I think all the SPM teams were really competitive and I think we found a good point to start from in the No. 7 DOOM/SMP Racing car. The weather looks like it will be the same tomorrow and it will be a new day. Hopefully we'll get to practice some more with the boost and go to the top of the chart."
MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): "This morning the first few hours we drove with race downforce levels, then spent the next few hours turning the car around to qualifying specs. I did my first-ever oval session in qualifying spec, and did three runs and kept taking more and more downforce off. The last run was really good and then we spend the last part of the day working on race running, so I'm happy where things are at with the Gallagher team."
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion): "We were better today with the Target car. We ran some of last year's stuff, or close to it, and the car was much better overall. We did some race running and then some qualifying running. Overall in the laps for outright speed we were around second or third so we're happy with that."
TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet): "Another solid day of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet. We did a lot of work today out on track with qualifying and race setups and I was really happy with where the car was for both. We'll really focus in tomorrow on our qualifying runs and setup to get it exactly where it needs to be for this weekend."
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team Hydroxycut - KVSH Racing Chevrolet): "I feel a little better today. The Hydroxycut - KVSH Racing Team struggled through this numbness with the car and no responsiveness. Then we hit something that was very sensitive (with the setup). The car is not perfect by any means, but it seems to be pretty solid on our own and in traffic we managed to find a little bit of front grip without destroying the rear. So, I am happy with that. We will regroup tonight, think about it, try and make it better then obviously, make the transition to qualifying mode. That is what we need to get after."
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "We had some good runs out there today. We definitely made some gains and have a little bit more to go, as we're still making adjustments for the coming days. I'm pretty confident that the Verizon Chevrolet will be in good shape for qualifying and the weather conditions are supposed to be good, too, so that helps, as well. So, getting another practice in tomorrow should get us where we need to be."
TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "We had to be patient, but I think I was relieved in the end. We were able to learn - all three cars were trying different philosophies, and it was a good day in that each car was headed in its own direction. Now we need to gather all the data together and settle on one direction. It was a productive day, it was short on track time - spent a lot of time in the garage - but it was productive."


GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda): "Ultimately we ended up second-fast on the no-tow list, which was good since we only really did one qualifying simulation. I was pleasantly surprised at the pace of the car because we are nowhere near fully trimmed out so to see the speed of it was definitely a good thing. We worked most of the day on the race car. After yesterday I was pretty nervous about what it looked like for us from a race car standpoint and the Steak 'n Shake car came to life today for sure - it was miles and miles better. I'm really pleased with where we stand at the end of the day because today we were 24th and the last couple of days we've been in the top-10, but this was by far the best car we've had the entire time so I'm pretty excited about it."
SPENCER PIGOT (No. 16 RLL/Mi-Jack/Manitowoc Honda): (On any soreness from the crash) "I feel good. I only had to suffer through a split moment of pain, and the guys have been working hard for the whole last 24 hours so I feel much worse for them. They have had to rebuild the whole car but they did a great job and got us out for an install lap which was important so we could go through everything and make sure we are ready to go tomorrow and get some track time, which is very much needed. I just can't thank them enough for their hard work."
GABBY CHAVES (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "It's only practice, but it feels pretty good. It's my first time at the top of the charts here at IMS in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Just pleased with the work the team has been doing. Very pleased with the performance that Honda has been putting out, as well. Overall I think we've got a pretty strong package."
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "It was kind of a tough day. We chased a lot of issues. We had a gearbox problem part of the day and never really got it solved, we just worked around it. Not the Thursday we were hoping for, but we did finally get some race runs in at the end and it made me feel a little better. I think the car is in a pretty decent place. Handling-wise, I was relatively happy. You always have to make improvements here and there, but we're just struggling to find the speed in it. We'll keep looking on our end and see what we can come up with. Obviously, we'll get some help tomorrow with power so we'll see how it goes."
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Chevrolet): "Another productive day. No big dramas, so that's good. I think we got a good program going and we'll try to keep it solid for tomorrow. Get some good boost and see where we're at. I feel good. We worked a lot on race run and it should be pretty decent in traffic. Now we have to make it fast by ourselves."
SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was a good day. It was a long day. We did a lot of laps. I'm really happy; I think we found something that I like in traffic. We did a bit of qualifying run, but we didn't spend too much time on it. I just need to iron the details on the car. I think the Menards Chevrolet is really good in traffic and I can be aggressive. I think it's a really good sign for the race. Tomorrow is Fast Friday, so we'll work on qualifying and see how much speed we can get out of the No. 22 car."
SAGE KARAM (No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet): "Today we tried a different direction on setup for our race car, and we can take plenty of notes from it - what to do, what not to do going forward. I think we have a good direction of where we want to go with the No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy Chevy for the remainder of the month. I think tomorrow we're gonna go out with what we think will work and find a baseline to work from. Being that it's Fast Friday tomorrow, the speeds are going to be a bit quicker, and we're going to be working on more qualifying simulations tomorrow. We'll just pick away at that as the day goes and hopefully at the end of the day we can work more on the DRR-Kingdom race car and get the thing ready for May 29."
STEFAN WILSON (No. 25 Driven2SaveLives - KVRT Chevrolet): "It was a really productive day, we got a lot of track time. We made a lot of changes, I feel like we found some that were good, some that were bad. At the end of the day I feel like the Driven2SaveLives No. 25 was running pretty good and it's probably the most comfortable I've felt all month. I'm really excited to come back tomorrow for Fast Friday with the extra boost and see what it's like there."
CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda): "Another long day of practice, that's for sure. We were really concentrated on the car since the temperatures of the track were really similar to what the temperatures should be on race day. We worked on the car and I was very happy with the work we have done. I think we have good speed - I think that showed. The last few days we have always ran in the top. I think we have a good United Fiber & Data car for the race so tomorrow we just need to focus on qualifying."
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): "The benefit of a long practice week at Indy is that we have the opportunity to work on things in a few different way. We can focus on qualifying, the race, running in traffic, running alone - and that's what we're going through now. We spent some time today just checking off boxes in all areas."
RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "I had a pretty decent day going - working through race setups and running in lots of traffic. I was pretty happy with the car for the most part. We had a mechanical issue as we were getting ready to start another traffic run, and it's unfortunate because we had a pretty quick DHL race car going."
TOWNSEND BELL (No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda): "Obviously (we) had a nice tow this morning, but worked a lot on race setup all day and made a lot of gains. Really proud of my team of guys that have come together to support this fifth car one-off entry with Andretti, and also really thankful to be part of a five-car program where there's so much information to learn and reanalyze what I do and all of that. Also the chance to run with them in traffic repeatedly is, I think, helping me a lot."
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Special Honda): "Again, we made some progress today. Changes that we made continue to improve the car quite a bit. In traffic, the car seemed to be racier. We did an evaluation of the car at various points on our own, with heavy fuel tanks, running with massive packs of cars in front of us, then less. I think we're in the ballpark; the car has really good potential. There are a few things I'd really like to see from the car for race conditions. It's the best day we've had so far even though we didn't run many laps. I'm really happy the guys kept working at it, and avoided some issues and missteps we had this morning. Everybody kept their head down to salvage a good day."
JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "We went out this morning in the No. 41 ABC Supply car and it was our first time running in the new engine. We worked on the car, worked on getting the balance right for race traffic. By the end of the day, found a pretty decent set up to run in. Now we need to plan for tomorrow. Obviously tomorrow is qualifying prep for Saturday. We will put this map [race trim] in our pocket and we will work on it Monday."
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 42 Tresiba Chevrolet): "Yeah, I think we're pretty good. The No. 42 has been decent. It's kind of weird saying the No. 42 rather than the No. 83, but the No. 42 has been pretty good in traffic, and we worked a lot on the race car today. I think at the moment it's pretty tough. The conditions were fairly good. The weather was nice, the wind not terrible, but I think we're fighting from a little bit of a hole here."
MATT BRABHAM (No. 61 PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet): "We're still working away, trying to get some more out of the car - it was good to put in 97 trouble free laps around the Speedway today. We were plodding away today to get more experience on how the race car should be. We still have some more work to do on the race car. We have to compare some data with our teammates and see what they are doing and what we might be able to learn from that."
PIPPA MANN (No. 63 Susan G. Komen Honda): "We've been working really hard on our race car. Last year we had a really good car until I made a mistake and smashed it into a million pieces, which is not recommended at all. We've got a great team here - we've got a strong team of four cars. We're all learning off one another and we're working really hard with our cars. And so far we seem to be going in the right direction with them."
ORIOL SERVIA (No. 77 Lucas Oil Special Honda): "Today we accomplished what we wanted, which was to do lots of laps. On Tuesday it was raining and yesterday we did a long change, so we didn't get to run much. Today, we evaluated a lot of things and we gave the engineers what they were asking for: a lot of data. Now they need to look at it and see which combination works best. I was quite happy with the No. 77 Jahia/Lucas Oil car at some times of the day. Some others, not so much. This car is very temperamental in the wind and it was windy today, so some moments were a little difficult. I'm quite happy, though. I think Honda is doing a great job. I think we have the speed that we asked for from them and we still have a few days to figure out the perfect setup."
ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 Castrol Edge/Curb Honda): "It was another positive day. Again, I think if you look at the no-tow list we are P5, just a couple tenths of a mile per hour out of the top - so I think that is pretty positive. That is all going to change tomorrow with the increased boost level, so we'll start from scratch and carry forward the positive efforts and progress we have made over the past few days."
IMS
